Softly, softly

The hardest job at the helm of GM-Daewoo almost a year after General Motors took the reins is containing the enthusiasm. So says Nick Reilly, the man who should know.

23 August 2010Chris. Gable

The hardest job at the helm of GM-Daewoo almost a year after General Motors took the reins is containing the enthusiasm.

So says Nick Reilly, the man who should know.

As chairman and managing director of GM-Daewoo Auto and Technology, Reilly has been at the coal face of what amounts to the takeover of a troubled marque. And one from the Asia-Pacific region at that.

Reilly is a top-level career GM executive. He's English and formerly headed Vauxhall in the UK. The prospect of working with a young car-maker in a solidifying Korean car industry doesn't faze him one bit. Nor does Daewoo's recent troubled past.

In fact, his enthusiasm is infectious.

At Frankfurt for the unveiling of the hatchback version of the Lacetti sedan recently launched here, Reilly said the momentum within the company has been palpable since the world's biggest car-maker became the majority shareholder of the then-bankrupt Daewoo one year ago next month. So much so, he says, that the temptation is to go boots 'n' all to develop a sports car, SUV, diesel engine, luxury car ... you name it.

Instead, he says, the only viable approach for getting the car-maker back on its feet -- and for growing it as a significant player in the GM world -- is softly, softly.

To overload the elements of the company -- from design to production and marketing -- right now would be courting disaster, Reilly says.

GM is marketing the Lacetti -- pronounced "Lasetti" -- globally. In the US, it's a Suzuki; in other markets it's a Chevrolet. In Korea, subway trains are "wrapped" in images of the car.

And the car itself -- launched here earlier this month -- is a marked improvement on the old-Opel formula that was the 1.5i and later Lanos. Mind you, the Lacetti was developed before GM arrived on the scene.

The ItalDesign-styled hatchback version just unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show will join the sedan here around mid next year.

And, of course, Reilly and co have secured at least part of the services of Holden's "Mr Monaro" chief designer Mike Simcoe, who became GM's Asia-Pacific design boss on September 1.

With his long sideburns, single earing and mostly-black, slim-line wardrobe, Simcoe is a stylish man. He's also a fast-rising star in the GM design world.

The Monaro announced Simcoe's arrival in the rarefied world of trend-setting car design, and Simcoe wears his new mantle well. At last week's biennial Frankfurt show, Simcoe fielded press corps questions like a trouper. With Nick Reilly and GM-Daewoo marketing boss Allan Batey beside him, Simcoe was the goods. You could see the enthusiasm his presence instilled in GM-Daewoo's top brass.

And that's the type of enthusiasm Nick Reilly says he has to temper ... for now, at least.

With Simcoe onboard -- and the backing of GM heavyweights who like the Monaro -- GM-Daewoo is poised to take a major step forward. In fact, Nick Reilly believes the company has a chance to become the style leader

Simcoe has been charged with digging out existing GM-Daewoo design talent while defining a strong "family" look for its cars.

In fact, executive in charge of GM-Daewoo's European operations centre, Hardy Spranger confirmed that Simcoe was behind the "happier" look of the new Matiz mini car, due late next year. The car was designed in-house but looked "grumpy" when he first saw it in the design stage. Spranger said he is a fan of the Monaro and is happier himself with the work Simcoe has put into the restyled Matiz.

While neither GM nor Simcoe has influenced the Lacetti -- or the coming hatchback version -- next year's new Matiz should be the real groundbreaker for the car-maker.

Nick Reilly admitted over lunch in Frankfurt that a diesel engine with passenger car applications and a "Kia Sorento-sized" SUV were priorities. A sports car is on his wish list but would have to wait until after the flurry that will be 2004-2005.

It'll all be worth watching. And, the good news is, the cars increasingly will be worth looking at and, of course, driving.

Chris. Gable travelled to Frankfurt as a guest of GM-Daewoo.

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